The Night I Watched a Lake Freeze

The Night I Watched a Lake Freeze

By Michael L. Wright

     There are some geological phenomena that only few people have the good fortune to experience. I am one of those few who had the pleasure of witnessing such an event. Have you ever gone to the refrigerator and opened a bottle of water only to have it suddenly freeze? You can see the ice crystals shooting into the liquid. While you are holding the bottle, the liquid has frozen solid. This phenomenon occurs in small mountain lakes. It is possible to predict the timing of such an event almost accurately through the wonderment of modern technology. Forcing a lake to freeze can happen with a little help from man.

     The winters in Germany are cold, although not as cold as winter in Odessa, Texas. I spent the better part of a three-year extended enlistment in Germany during 1970-71. I realize that is only two years, but my time spent in Germany was a voluntary extension of my Army enlistment. While in Germany, I had a guide and interpreter. My soul mate during that time was Juliana Bieber. (I have not thought about this for a long time). I met Juliana while attending a cocktail party thrown by the Seventh Signal Brigade. Her date on that particular night was busy getting plastered and flirting with all the Senior Officers’ wives. 

     Juliana stood out from the crowd. She only stood a few inches over five feet. I am sure of this because it was a constant subject of our conversation. Juliana was a trained ballerina and quite gifted. In fact, she had her own company. The problem is that large ballet companies preferred their lead ballerina to be closer to six feet tall. She was the only one who noticed her height. When Juliana walked into a room, all eyes turned her way. Her striking blue eyes told you that this is not just another attractive woman. Juliana’s eyes yelled at you to gaze deeply into them because there is so much to learn. Regardless of where your eyes strayed, they always came back to gaze into her blue eyes.

     I served as a bartender at this particular party. At one point, Juliana approached me to ask if I would share a beer with her. Once I gained my voice, I replied, “Certainly.” While we shared a drink, we engaged in some small talk. I told her about how I planned to attend college at the University of Arkansas once my enlistment ended.

     Since Juliana was a dance instructor and modern dance performer and producer, I was, of course, impressed. Then she said a magical thing. She told me that she had studied dance in Austria at a school founded by the late Isadora Duncan. I now had concrete proof of why a good general education is invaluable. While in my last year of undergraduate courses, I took the Fine Arts sequence. One course of the sequence was Contemporary Dance. The only thing I remember about contemporary dance was learning about Isadora Duncan. I have to tell the truth; I made a ‘D’ in the dance section of the of the Fine Arts sequence. However, I learned enough about Isadora Duncan to be able to discuss the late artist with a student of modern dance.

Permit me a few moments to digress. I have told this story in many of my classes to explain why they should pursue a course in which they are uninterested. Learning about Isadora Duncan later became a gateway to two wonderful years of my life.

     Once the party ended and everyone had to go home, my employer was arranging to have a driver take me to the house at which I was staying. The nature of my job and the nature of things in Germany during that time meant it was better to have the systems control people of Seventh Signal Brigade live off base. I lived in a guesthouse with a German couple. Juliana said that she would see to it that I got home. I hope you are not wondering about her date. The ignorant fool passed out on the couch. If I had a picture, you would immediately understand the “fool” comment. There are several stories that could branch off from this remark, but this is an essay of how I watched a little mountain lake freeze.

     Now, here is the part in which we get to the mountain lake. In October, Juliana called me and asked if I cared to watch a lake freeze over. I told her that I would go anywhere with her, even to watch grass grow. She informed me how I should dress and what I should bring. I was unaware that watching a lake freeze was a major production, believe me, it is indeed.

     The lake we were going to is in the Alps on the German-Swiss border. We drove along a rather winding and somewhat torturous road to arrive at a ski resort. There must have been a thousand people, all dressed in formal attire. (Please refer to the opera story to recall a description of “formal attire”). By the way, Juliana is the same lady who introduced me to the opera. We have a thousand people dressed in formal attire sitting on a porch waiting for a lake to freeze. Can you see the sanity of the situation? There is plenty of entertainment, champagne, beer and of course, the German necessity, Jagermeister, all to help pass time. There is also all the delicious food you could want available. At around 11 p.m., it becomes silent. Faintly, you hear a cracking noise and see several colored spotlights shining onto the lake. You can actually see the ice crystals growing and spreading out along the lake. It was one of the most spectacular sights of my life.

    Now, if you have read this far, you may be saying I rambled on a long time just to get to this point but there is a moral to be learned. Every year while teaching college, I have heard students complain about some course they dislike and how they failed to see any use in taking the course. Just remember that perhaps you will meet a special someone at some party in the future and the thing you have in common will be that least favored course. Just maybe that significant someone will invite you to watch a lake freeze. It could change your life. I thank God for that ‘D’ in Fine Arts Dance class. 

©2012 M.L.Wright